So, these are what my random thoughts are when I can't sleep and I really need about 4 more hours of sleep:

Things that piss me off at 4 am:*4 yr-old kicking me mercilessly, waking me from sleep that took hours to come in the 1st place*discovering a 4 yr-old peed in my bed, in spite of the fact she has on watertight overnight pants *said 4 yr-old crying when I wake her from her own sleep to tell her to get out of my bed and change herself*changing a king-sized bed all by yourself at 4 am, because a 4 yr-old peed in it*the injustice of being asked to sub in the preK/Kindergarten class the week after being relieved to have a different job at the school - oh and by the way, getting that call at 10:30 pm the night before they want you to teach *thinking of the tragedy hundreds of thousands of Floridians are dealing with - unlivable houses, no electric, countless drastic changes to many people's way of life as they struggle to pick up the pieces*a 2 yr-old crying when you're actually just about to drift off about 4:30am*said 2 yr-old kicking you in the breast after you exhaustingly, but lovingly allow her to join you and the bedwetter in the nice-and-clean king-sized bed*failing to fall back to sleep, when you now need another 4.5 hours of sleep*laying in bed thinking of all the things that need to be done, when you really should be sleeping since you have to spend the day with seven 4 & 5 yr-olds*realizing that we don't have enough money in our account to pay all the bills that are due now*realizing that I am going to actually have to do a bit more work than I am doing, ie. sell some make-up/bath & body stuff*realizing I have 2 days to get my stuff together for the Arts & Wares Showcase at church*realizing I forgot after bedtime last night that a 2 year old put almost an entire roll of toilet tissue into the toilet, after not even peeing in it*scooping piles of toilet tissue out of the girls' bathroom potty at 5 am, just so I can pee, without flooding the apartment*having to use the girls' bathroom instead of my own because I don't want to wake them sleeping in my bed*doing laundry at 5 am

Things that make me grateful at 6 am:*angel children who love me so much and miss their daddy so much they want to sleep in my bed*I have a safe place for said angel children to live*I am able to help a school that really needs it*I offered to take a pay cut at said school because there is no way they will meet their budget*I have a husband who understands why I did that, and is not angry with me but appreciates that about me*fresh pineapple that is sweet as honey*birthday wishes in abundance from my online friends, even though I didn't hear from half my own family - I even got more birthday emails from other friends that didn't acknowledge me last year or the year before or the year.... you get the idea*a SIL who tried to find a way to spend one day in Atlanta just to be with me on my birthday (even though it didn't work out, the fact she even tried was amazing, since she lives in another state)*my rockin' friend, L, who spent the entire day with me (even though her son helped with the toilet tissue incident) and even took us out to lunch for my birthday*soup, salad and breadsticks*pineapple. damn, this stuff is good*getting to be the one who spends the first day of his leave with my cousin who is in the Air Force, about to be sent to the middle east*knowing he will cry when he sees me at the airport (even though he knows I will be getting him there)*hearing my husband's voice on the phone, even though I'd rather hear right next to me*knowing he will leave the hotel tomorrow night and spend the night with his parents and then go to a football game on Saturday with one of his good friends*feeling better after writing this post and listing the things I am grateful for

I love you guys, really. I so appreciate the support and friendships that I have made here in cyberspace and look forward to meeting up with Becca soon for dinner and our Blog Party in a few weeks with Becca, Cara and Sandi! And hey, anyone in the Chicago area that wants to get together for lunch/afternoon of Friday, November 19... I am going to be in the windy city! Until next time, God Bless You.